recap

What a whirlwind of a weekend.

First, Thursday afternoon: I find B, luggage and all, at Penn Station and after much hugs and much chattering we hail a taxi for the Washington Square Hotel. Arriving at a very 1920's esque style hotel (that boasts of having had Ernest Hemingway as a frequent visitor) we checked in and then B and I and our many bags took over our art-deco room. Dinner was at Karavas, a neat greek place in the Village and then around midnight being the nerds that we truly are we loaded up on blankets and pillows and headed down to Rockefeller Center to camp out for the free John Mayer concert at the today show.

Oh, but wait. My life is ruled by the principle of Murphy's law, is it not?

And so, much to our surprise we discovered (at around one o'clock)- thanks to some dear Russian friends we had made- that no John Mayer wasn't performing in the morning but instead Enrique Iglesias was. Those two words were enough to have me and B running for the hotel.

Friday: We wake up at 12:30 and seeing as how neither of us are much of morning people, we take our time getting ready before heading to Times Square and lunch at Stardust, shopping at Macy's, and a walk along Broadway to see the mannequin exhibit. Then a quick change and dinner along Restaurant Row with the sweetest little old Italian man as our waiter, and on to Promises, Promises with Sean Hayes (ohemgee) and Kristin Chenoweth. Hilarious show! Amazing numbers! And some of the funniest lines I've ever heard were delivered out of Sean Hayes's mouth.

One Saturday Morning: (do not even try to pretend you didn't just sing that to the old cartoon tune) Up around 10:30 (a bit more respectable time) we grabbed lunch at Grey Dog, delicious as usual, and headed for the Village for a relaxing day of shopping.

One Saturday Evening: So retract my statement about Murphy's law. At least for the moment. As B and I finally found our way to the Magnolia Bakery in Grand Central who else should be there as well but Joan Cusack filming an episode of Law and Order SVU (look for me and B in the background of the episode whenever it airs!). So fun and interesting to watch them film the show. After our television debut (ha!) B and I headed up to the East side for dinner with M and E and then an awesome concert by Duet. Then a few midnight snacks in the form of leftover cupcakes later we passed out at the hotel.

Sunday: We finally got up and did some touristy stuff! Central park (where we took pictures with the Balto statue, don't even pretend you're not jealous), the boathouse, and the Met, Sunday was full and fun. And then some. A couple of Chinese delivery boxes + the first season of Mad Men and an extremely comfortable hotel bed ended our night in a lazy fashion. And there the weekend was over far too fast.

This morning we had breakfast in the hotel restaurant which was very reminiscent of a speakeasy and made me wonder if at one time that was exactly what it was used for. Three suitcases and one taxi later, B is sitting at the airport and here I am writing all this before I forget it. It's strange having people from home come up here. So out of the background and places that I connect them with, it's like for a weekend neither Mississippi nor New York exists and we're in some strange loop where time stops and there's nothing but us, and sketchy delicious Chinese food, and the box set of Mad Men but then Monday morning and housekeeping and the world knock on your door and remind you of the life you have outside that nice vacation weekend. It was wonderful having B here, showing her all the places that I've come to love but it also made me miss home and Oxford and made me so ready for next year. It's going to be an amazing and wonderful year, and I'm absolutely positive about that. But it's also been an amazing and wonderful summer, that is fading by much faster than I wanted it too. There's so much left to do and see, but New York will always be here and there is so much comfort in that thought.

Love to all! (especially B!)

-Mandy

P.S.- I just now realized I haven't update since Monday of last week.

Quick recap, Tuesday was dinner and chatting with S and then a wonderful free concert with S.B. thanks to his connections at work (he works for Sony). I'm a new found fan of the band they just signed (Progress in Color), though I'm not going to lie- the name could use a little work. Then Wednesday I attended the Philharmonic in the Park with S which was perfect! It was a beautiful and cool night and so much of New York was gathered on the great lawn of Central Park sitting and eating and listening to the sounds of the Philharmonic while the sun set behind us, silhouetting the New York skyline and framing all the concert goers in a beautiful purple light. The music matched the night, and it was without a doubt one of my best evenings in New York.